Kindergarten postponed: examining parents' decisions and teacher opinions concerning school readiness

Abstract

In the United States of America, the practice of kindergarten redshirting i.e., of waiting to enroll a child into kindergarten until the year after the child was originally eligible, is becoming more common in today's schools. This study offers insight into the reasons why some parents elect to redshirt their child at the kindergarten level. A secondary focus was to determine the views of kindergarten teachers in regards to redshirting and to compare the opinions of parents and teachers in this area. Survey data was collected from 24 kindergarten teachers and 63 parents of redshirted children. The results show that parents who redshirt their child are more likely to consider their emotional concerns for their child. Alternatively, teachers are more likely to support redshirting when utilized for academic or maturational needs. Suggestions for researchers, parents, and educators are provided.International Research in Early Childhood Education, vol. 1, no. 1, p. 21-33